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Hospital Support for Breastfeeding

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August 2011

30%

Breastfeeding for 9 months reduces a baby's odds of becoming overweight by more than 30%.

1 in 3

Even mothers who want to breastfeed have a hard time without hospital support; about 1 mother in 3 stops early without it.

5%

About 5% of US babies are born in hospitals that are designated Baby-Friendly.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic. In the US, 1 preschooler in 5 is at least overweight, and half of these are obese. Breastfeeding helps protect against childhood obesity. A baby's risk of becoming an overweight child goes down with each month of breastfeeding. In the US, most babies start breastfeeding, but within the first week, half have already been given formula, and by 9 months, only 31% of babies are breastfeeding at all. Hospitals can either help or hinder mothers and babies as they begin to breastfeed. The Baby- Friendly Hospital Initiative describes Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding that have been shown to increase breastfeeding rates by providing support to mothers. Unfortunately, most US hospitals do not fully support breastfeeding; they should do more to make sure mothers can start and continue breastfeeding.

Problem

Most hospitals do not fully support breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding helps protect against childhood obesity and other illnesses, and lowers medical costs.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies be fed nothing but breast milk for about the first 6 months and continue breastfeeding for at least 1 year.

Babies who are fed formula and stop breastfeeding early have higher risks of obesity, diabetes, respiratory and ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and tend to require more doctor visits, hospitalizations, and prescriptions.

Low rates of breastfeeding add $2.2 billion a year to medical costs.

Mothers who breastfeed have lower risks of breast and ovarian cancers.

Hospitals should do more to help mothers start and continue breastfeeding.

Hospitals that wait to start the first breastfeed, or separate babies from mothers, or routinely give formula to breastfeeding babies make it harder for mothers and babies to be able to breastfeed.

When hospitals support mothers to feed their babies only breast milk, it helps mothers to continue feeding only breast milk at home.

Baby-Friendly hospitals make special efforts to support mothers to breastfeed.

The World Health Organization/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, recognizes hospitals that follow the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

When hospitals have more of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in place, mothers breastfeed longer.

The Baby-Friendly Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding

Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.

Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.

Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.

Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth.

Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.